BY DANIEL SCHMIDT
FOR THE OBSERVER
BEAUREGARD — The Beauregard High School and Valley High School soccer teams split a critical 5A Area 7 doubleheader at Ram Stadium on March 19.
Girls
Elizabeth Gonzalez led the Lady Hornets (3-7-1, 2-0) to a 3-1 victory over the Lady Rams (2-4, 0-3) with a goal and an assist, and freshman forward Jose Diaz’s last-minute penalty kick sealed a 1-0 victory for the Rams (3-4-1, 1-2) over the Hornets (6-6, 1-1).
Beauregard girls’ and boys’ head coach Kelly Tubbs applauded his players for giving their all in a game that secured the Lady Hornets’ third playoff appearance in seven years. He said that after his girls turned a corner just the day before, they refused to live in the boys’ shadow.
“They knew they were guaranteed a playoff spot no matter what if they won this game, so they were bound and determined to see it through,” Tubbs said. “We had a girls-only practice yesterday, and something just clicked. It showed up tonight. They realized we can do this as a team, and we didn’t rely on one singular player.”
After BHS went down 1-0 in the opening minutes, junior forward Elizabeth Gonzalez played a critical goal in the win by tying the game.
“[Coach Tubbs] just wanted us to give our all because it was an important game for us to get into the playoffs,” Gonzalez said. “We knew we could do it, we just had to work as a team. I had fun playing with my girls today, and it felt like we were actually a team.”
VHS drew first blood almost 11 minutes into the match after their corner kick bounced past BHS’s first line of defenders and hit a Lady Hornet’s hands. After the referees awarded a penalty for a handball, Gracie Llorens coolly slotted the ball just to the goalkeeper’s left and put the Lady Rams up 1-0.
That lead lasted only just over a minute as Gonzalez took possession of an unsuccessful VHS clearance and launched a 22-yard shot that slightly deflected off a Lady Ram and wrongfooted the goalkeeper.
With the game tied at 1-1, Jackie Lugo fired the Lady Hornets into a 2-1 lead with 14:17 left before halftime after finding the ball in the box and placing it near the top left corner with a gorgeous half-volley.
Near the conclusion of a tough, physical second half, Alleria Dupree put the game out of reach with 7:31 left to play after Gonzalez dished her low cross across the face of the goal for a point-blank, tap-in shot.
Boys
In the nightcap, the Hornets controlled the game and created several dangerous scoring opportunities that could have broken the game open. However, tough resistance from the Rams and several quality saves from their goalkeeper frustrated BHS and ensured the game was scoreless entering halftime.
After the break, VHS began creating better chances by playing the ball up the wings and looking to cut it back to a trailing forward in the box. For a time, it appeared the Hornets would do enough to secure a draw and go home in position to secure a playoff spot.
However, a BHS player took Santiago Diaz down in the box with 7:23 left in the match, prompting the referee to award VHS a penalty. From there, Jose Diaz wrongfooted the Hornets’ goalkeeper and thumped the ball inside the right post.
A furious BHS comeback attempt then fell just short in the final minutes.
